Cardinia Creek ran from the Dandenong Ranges to Western Port, passing through some small but well-defined hills south of the outer suburb of Emerald.

[3] With the construction of one large rolled earthfill and rockfill embankment to serve as the Cardinia Dam wall, and some other saddle dams in nearby hills, the large water storage facility of the Cardinia Reservoir was created.

[1] Construction of the dam was completed in 1973, following which it took another four years to fill, including substantial water transfers from Silvan Reservoir.

[3] Export of "Australia Pure", a bottled water from Cardinia Reservoir, commenced in 1993 to several European countries and the United States.

A 3.5-megawatt (4,700 hp) hydroelectric power station at the outlet of the pipeline generates electricity as water is transferred to Cardinia.

Water from Cardinia supplies Melbourne's southern and south-eastern suburbs, and the Mornington Peninsula.